Ben Muncil 
Ben Muncil and other St. Regis Area guides, 1885
Benjamin A. Muncil, born in Vermontville in 1867, came from a very poor family. Put to work at age five, he received little formal schooling. His first adult job was driving lumber wagons. Later, he became a guide, and did carpentry work on camps on Upper St. Regis Lake.
He quickly progressed from repairs to building and contracting. He learned to read blueprints and to make architectural drawings, his daughter reading to him. He went on to build many of the most famous camps on the St. Regis chain of lakes, as well as many churches and homes in Brighton and elsewhere.
Ben Muncil was tragically killed in 1930, when his car was struck by a train at Gabriels. He is buried in the cemetery at St. John's in the Wilderness Church.
Built by Ben Muncil in Brighton:
| Camps | Other Structures | |
| Camp Topridge (Upper St. Regis Lake) | Huntington (Trevors) | Brighton Town Hall |
| White Pine Camp (Osgood Pond) | Durkee | Church of the Assumption, Gabriels |
| Northbrook Lodge (Osgood Pond) | Mitchel | Mount Mercy Convent at Gabriels Sanatorium |
| Longwood (Spitfire Lake) | Dr. Chase | Homes in Gabriels, Paul Smiths and Otisville |
| McAlpin | Trowbridge | The Municipal Water System in Keese Mills/Otisville |
| Brewster | ||
Ben Muncil's home in Otisville, 2009
Sources
• Surprenant, Neil, "Ben Muncil: Builder of Great Camps", Adirondac, v. 50 (July 1986), 20-22.
• Adirondack Enterprise, December 19, 1930
See also: Benjamin A. Muncil
Brighton History Days have been held one weekend each summer since 1994, sponsored by the Brighton Architectural Heritage Committee.
